Yorkton almanac
Yorkton is located on the TransCanada Yellowhead Highway, near the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, approximately halfway between Winnipeg, MB and Saskatoon, SK.
Three major highways converge at Yorkton: the Yellowhead, and Highways 9 and 10.
Highway 9 joins northern Saskatchewan with the U.S. cities of Minot and Bismarck, ND and points south. Highway 10 brings travellers from Regina, Saskatchewan's capital, and continues east to Dauphin, MB.
For maps of Saskatchewan, the highways in and around Yorkton, and the city itself, visit the web site of Tourism Yorkton.
Facts and figures
Population: 16,800
Trading area population: 200,000
Area: 5,700 acres (2,300 hectares)
Altitude: 1,656 feet (505 metres) above sea level
Climate: About 2,300 hours of sunshine per year
15 to 45 inches (33 to 100 cm) snow per year
15 inches (33 cm) rain per year
Average family income: $33,114
Major economic activities: Agriculture, food processing, manufacturing, retail and service, tourism, potash mining
Annual sales in Yorkton: Retail, $140.5 million; manufacturing, $82 million
Annual sales in trading area: $3.6 billion
Construction: Annual construction value has reached $20 million
Education: 4 public elementary schools; 4 Catholic elementary schools; 1 public high school; 1 Catholic high school; 1 regional college offering university and technical institute courses
Municipal services: Police department (RCMP); fire department; regional hospital; ambulance; mental health centre; nursing home; public library; public housing; senior citizen public housing; transit system
Churches: all major religious denominations
Culture: Art gallery and cultural centre; theatre for performing arts; amateur drama; amateur bands and musical groups; ethnic dance; annual film festival; museum
Recreation: indoor skating and hockey rinks, curling rink, indoor swimming pool, tennis courts, 18-hole golf course, baseball diamonds, softball diamonds, slowpitch facilities, soccer fields, horseshoe pitch, bowling centre, playgrounds, parks, ecological preserve, snowmobile trails; hunting; fishing; martial arts
Media: 3 weekly newspapers, 2 radio stations, television station, cable television
Clubs and organizations: all major service clubs, Chamber of Commerce, tourism association, sports organizations, arts and cultural organizations
The beginnings of Yorkton
Yorkton was founded in 1882 by a group of settlers from York County, Ontario, recruited by the York Farmers Colonization Company. It was originally located about two miles north of the present-day city, but moved in 1889 to be alongside the new railway line.
The railway brought with it a major influx of European settlers at the turn of the century, giving the community a population boost, and a new vitality.
As was the case throughout Saskatchewan, the promise of farmland was the greatest attraction for early settlers. In the case of Yorkton, the fertile region was settled primarily by immigrants from Ukraine who were experienced with farming on the plains and could maximize the agricultural potential around Yorkton.
They were joined by settlers from other east European countries, Germany, and Europeans who came north from the American plains.
These pioneers also brought with them a vital philosophy of community co-operation and cultural pride.
About Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is the heart of the Canadian prairies, bordered by Manitoba and Alberta, and to the south by the American states North Dakota and Montana.
The name is believed to be derived from the Plains Indian word "kisiskatchewan", meaning "river that flows swiftly". Saskatchewan covers more than 650,000 square kilometres (over a quarter million square miles), of which half is forest, a third is farmland, and an eighth is fresh water.
The farmland produces more than 54 per cent of the wheat grown in Canada, making agriculture (along with mining, manufacturing and tourism) a principal export industry.
Saskatchewan is home to a million people, many with their family roots in eastern Europe, Russia, Scandinavia and the British Isles.
